"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
-- Sinclair Lewis

Friday, January 10, 2014

Today The GOP Voted For The 47th Time To Kill The Affordable Care Act… Zzzzzzzzz

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Yadda, yadda, yadda… Nancy Pelosi, of course, voted against the latest attempt to take health care away from poor people. So did 121 other Democrats. But every single Republican and67 Democrats-- many from the Republican-wing of the Democratic Party-- voted with them. Conservative Democrats we're out in force showing their true colors this morning for Joe Pitts' Health Exchange Security and Transparency Act (H.R. 3811). Republican coke freak Trey Radel (R-FL) was one of the co-sponsors.I get Pelosi's frustration but if she was unhappy enough about this, why not tell Steve Israel to stop encouraging Democrats to cross the aisle and back this kind of legislation. Earlier today someone was whining about how Republicans are killing working families with their opposition to raising the minimum wage and how Democrats should pulverize them for it. Well they should-- but Steve Israel is shoveling DCCC money into the campaigns of Democrats who joined the Republicans to vote against a minimum wage increase, particularly New Dems and Blue Dogs like John Barrow (GA), Bill Owens (NY) and Kurt Shrader (OR).Today's vote was even stupider because so many Democrats crossed over to the dark side-- and not just the Republican-wing of the party House caucus. Corrupt conservatives like Israel himself, Colleen Hanabusa (who is primarying progressive Senator Brain Schatz in Hawaii), Wall Sttreet whore Jim Himes. and the Wall Street-backing contingent of bad Dems like Scott Peters (New Dem-CA). Gary Peters (New Dem-MI), Allyson Schwartz (New Dem-PA), Ron Barber (New Dem-AZ), Kyrsten Sinema (New Dem-AZ), Ann Kuster (New Dem-NH), Dan Maffei (New Dem-NY), Patrick Murphy (New Dem-FL), Sean Patrick Maloney (New Dem-NY), Pete Gallego (New Dem-TX), Joe Garcia (New Dem-FL), John Delaney (New Dem-MD), Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX), John Barrow (Blue Dog-GA), Dan Lipinski (Blue Dog-IL), Ami Bera (New Dem-CA) were eager to show how transpartisan they are, as always. But joining them against Pelosi today were usually staunch progressives like Chellie Pingree (ME), David Cicilline (RI), Janice Hahn (CA), Jackie Speier (CA), Ben Ray Luján (NM), Lloyd Doggett (TX) and Brad Sherman (CA).The Democratic Party needs better leaders. The prognosis post-Pelosi, though is bleak. Eager to grab the top slot are corrupt conservatives like Hoyer, Wasserman Schultz, Israel, Crowley. It will be a lot harder to say "Well at least the Democrats are better than the Republicans." They'll be a lot less so if any of these awful Members grab power, as is likely. That's another reason why it is so important to elect principled progressive wherever it's possible… like these people. If you don't help… well, K Street and Wall Street are doing everything they can to make sure Hoyer, Crowley, Israel and Wasserman Schultz get an iron grip on the party, at which point the Republican wing if the Democratic Party becomes the Democratic Party. Don't let it happen. The party is bad enough already.